Sarah Palin blah, blah, media hype, blah, blah, blah, snappy soundbite, blah. Ever since her scathing pit bull speech last week at the Republican National Convention, I have been mulling over my blog comments regarding the new VP candidate.
I have been a Hillary supporter for a very long time. I believe that many people thought we were supporting Hillary because she is a woman. To me, that shows a lack of understanding and an unwillingness to look at issues--not just at personalities and gender. I supported Hillary because she is and has always been a strong support of women's issues (ie, choice, health care, education, equal rights, equal pay, etc.) She was (and still is) my gal.
When she lost the primary, many pundits said Hillary supporters would vote for McCain. I thought that this was a crock. Obviously, their policies are about as far apart as humanly possible. Apparently, the McCain camp believes that having a woman on the ticket may bring some Hillary supporters over to their side. (We just voted for Hillary because she was a woman, right? Wrong!)
Since the close of the Republican National Conventions, there has been a flood of media coverage about the McCain/Palin ticket-- the illegitimate child, the down syndrome baby, the pentecostal beliefs, the earmarks, the bridge to nowhere, etc. Here is a sampling of my favorite articles and videos.
I see Sarah Palin's nomination as pandering to women voters, and red neck men who voted for Hillary. In The Mirrored Ceiling, Judith Warner talks about Palin's nomination and the trend in American politics to cast votes based upon feelings and likability rather than issues, policies, and what is best for our country. Arianna Huffington also had a great article, Sarah Palin: A Trojan Moose Concealing Four More Years of George Bush. This article focuses on how the Palin media hype has distracted the media and the American people from the fact that the McCain/Palin is more of the same, not change.
In Sarah Palin Gender Card, Jon Stewart shows how the Republicans slammed Hillary when she said she was being unfairly treated by the media, but now say that people are being sexist when they raise questions about Palin.
The maverick/reformer label for the McCain/Palin ticket is ludicrous. In Palin and McCain's Shotgun Marriage, Frank Rich shoots holes in the maverick/reformer lies. Palin is a reformer who hired a lobbyist for her small town; this resulted in $27 million in earmarks. Hmmmm.... someone should ask her what the American people bought for that $27 million investment in Wasila, Alaska. Another part of the Republican shtick is that she "took on big oil" in Alaska. On the radio today, they said that her gubernatorial inaugural ball was paid for my oil companies. Where is the "taking on big oil" part? Maybe she took them as dance partners?
In John McCain's Big Acceptance Speech , Jon Stewart compares McCain's campaign promises to George Bush's 2000 campaign speech. In some cases, they used the same words! It is amazing that people are buying these lies again. McCain has been in the Senate for more than 25 years; he voted with George Bush 90% of the time. Change??? B.S.
In Then There was One, Thomas Freidman reveals the McCain/Palin ticket's anti-environmental policies. I almost puked when the convention goers cheered, "Drill, baby, drill." I also was appalled to learn that Palin sued the feds to take polar bears off the endanger species list. What happened to the all God's children of Christianity? Animals are part of God's kingdom.
Finally, I believe that this presidential election season will change American politics forever. It will no longer be a rarity for a woman or a person of any color besides white to be a viable candidate for president or vice president. Hurray! Maybe we have moved beyond rule by old white men.
All I can say is, Vote Obama! Stop the war. Save our country from irresponsible Republican spending and kick-backs to the rich.
Photo credit: Kodiak Konfidential (Check this blog out to hear what one Alaskan blogger thinks about his governor.)
